1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure generally to the field of clothing accessories, more particularly to beaded straps for use in applications such as decorative straps for brassieres (“bras”), and to methods of manufacturing them.
2. General Background
Functional requirements of certain straps used with items of clothing are to help keep items of clothing in a desired position on the user's body or to support parts of a user's body. Brassiere straps, for example, help keep a brassiere in place and support a woman's breasts, typically by means of elastic bands stretched from the back to the front of a brassiere that distribute weight more evenly across a woman's shoulders and apply upward force on the breasts.
Such straps are sometimes visible, for example when a woman wears a strapless dress or a strapless top, or a top with narrow shoulder straps or a wide neck opening, thereby exposing brassiere straps that would otherwise be hidden underneath other garments. In such situations, it is sometimes undesirable for the straps to be visible, for various reasons including aesthetics. Strapless brassieres are available, but may not provide an acceptable option in certain situations, for example because they may not provide sufficient support for some women. Similarly, not wearing a brassiere would eliminate undesirable issues associated with visible brassiere straps, but may not be an acceptable option in certain situations for some women.
Various decorative straps such as decorative brassiere straps have been developed. Such straps are intended to be aesthetically pleasing, and therefore are intended to be visible by others during normal use. By using decorative brassiere straps, a user may gain the functional advantages of traditional brassiere straps, without aesthetic or other problems sometimes associated with the visibility of brassiere straps. Many designs and styles of decorative straps are available, including beaded straps, straps based on interlinked elements, and straps based on decorative elements that are sewn onto or otherwise attached to traditional straps.
Certain beaded decorative straps may be associated with various problems. For example, depending on the particular length of a user's body measured from the rear to the front of a brassiere over the user's shoulder, if the underlying strap material (e.g., beading wire) stretches, individual beads may separate, thereby exposing the underlying material and causing undesirable aesthetic effects or discomfort due to pinching of the user's skin. As another example, for beaded brassiere straps based on elastic wires, repeated use and stretching of the underlying material may cause it to lengthen permanently over time and render the strap unusable (e.g., incapable of providing sufficient support) or prone to breaking. As another example, some decorative beaded brassiere straps may include adjuster portions (typically at the rear) to modify the length of the straps, but these may be undesirable, since the adjuster portions may not aesthetically match the beaded portions of the straps.
It is desirable to address the limitations in the art.